To do Once More, Not Same as Before
by White Lily of Wutai
Summary: Or, in which Cloud is a time-traveler from the end of the world, Ms. Strife is an ex-Turk with connections and information on Shinra, and Vincent spends his entire time somewhere between confused and very, very scared. Not that it shows too much. Not at all. (Time-travel AU, not quite canon, idk about romance, warnings inside.)
1. Chapter 1

**Well, welcome to the new story. This has actually been bouncing around in my head for a while now, and I'm happy I'm far enough ahead in _Mage's Pride_ to actually begin working on this. Updates will be on Thursdays, every week, excluding weeks I forget or am too tired/sick/behind to update on time.**

**Please read and review!**

**Word count: 1331**

**Trigger warnings: Some harsh language. **

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 1: Awake<strong>

Vincent was awakened by a rather abrupt series of knocks on the lid of his coffin.

The first set he wrote of as things falling from the ceiling: in an old building like Nibelheim's Shinra Manor, that wasn't really an uncommon thing.

The second set he wrote off as monsters, possibly the small, bomb-shaped ones he remembered from when he was an active Turk at the manor.

The third set was accompanied by a very snappish, "Would you wake the fuck up already?!" And Vincent couldn't really write that one off.

"Seriously, Vincent Valentine," the voice continued. "I don't have that much time in here, so the sooner you wake your ass up the better." The speaker sounded childish, but eerily familiar, like the younger, male version of someone Vincent once knew.

And hoped to Gaia wasn't still alive. _That_ woman was _terrifying_.

"Whoever you are, leave me be," Vincent commanded, closing his eyes and hoping to lapse back into whatever sleep he'd been in for the past Gaia-knows how long. There was a stretch of some-what silence, filled with the sounds of someone (or something) rooting around, accompanied by a number of crashes, before the speaker was back.

"Vincent, I'm not even kidding. Ma will beat _my_ ass for being home late to dinner,- on stew night, no less- then beat _your_ ass for making me late. Now, I don't know about you, but I'd rather go to bed tonight free of any maternal-rage-induced injuries." There was a joking lilt to the voice, but at the same time, Vincent knew the speaker was being serious.

So, after a moment's consideration, Vincent blew off the lid to his coffin, sending it flying across the room and startling whoever had woken him.

A boy with almost golden blonde hair stared up at him from where he had landed on the ground in his shock, vibrant blue eyes blinking rapidly. Vincent tucked his face into the collar of his cloak and resisted the urge to smirk.

"Was that even necessary?" The blonde grumbled after a moment, picking himself up off the dirty floor and dusting himself off. His rhetorical question was followed by a number of curses and what sounded like, "Oh, Ma's gonna kill me now." Vincent was almost impressed by the child's litany of words to use to describe one's _highly_ unlikely origins.

"It's sounds to me like your mother wasn't to fond of the idea of you coming up here to… er… fetch me?" Vincent wondered, lifting himself from the coffin. The kid snorted, shaking his head in a way that made his blonde spikes bounce comically.

"Nope!" He proclaimed happily. "Not in the slightest. But she promised that if I could make it to the manor, wake you up, and be back down to the house with you in tow in under two hours, she wouldn't say a word about it ever again. The name's Cloud, by the way. I keep forgetting people don't know me anymore."

"Cloud," Vincent parroted, a bit confused, following the boy out of the manor through one of the service tunnels that ran underneath. There were a few monsters, nothing that Cloud couldn't take out with a few deft shots before Vincent could even draw his gun properly.

Vincent was beginning to believe Cloud truly did have training from someone, and his style with a gun unrefined and looking like that of one far more comfortable with a sword but was also pointing towards someone Vincent sincerely hoped wasn't it.

They were reaching the end of the tunnel, a bit of the pale mountain light- that mostly came from sunlight reflecting off of snow- finally reaching Vincent for the first time in two decades, when the ex-Turk asked, "And if you couldn't make it back in two hours?"

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.

"Well, let's just say I'd probably never hear the end of it."

They made it to Cloud's house with three minutes and forty-five seconds to spare. A new record for Cloud, personally, considering everything he had to do up there. But he wasn't really too concerned with setting any personal records at the time.

Cloud hesitated for the slightest of moments, bracing himself for the Hel that was likely to be unleashed upon him, before he pushed open the door to the tiny Strife Family abode and stepped inside, not even sparing a backwards glance to make sure that Vincent was following.

The inside of the house was wonderfully warm: a fire burning in its place, rugs covering near every inch of floor, overflowing bookshelves lining almost all the wallspace. It wasn't a large house by any means,- it was but three main rooms on the ground floor and a loft above where Cloud and his mother slept- but it was enough for the two of them.

Marian Strife sat calmly in her rocking chair before the fire, back to the door and knitting. Cloud didn't even try to sneak past her. It wouldn't do much good; he'd tested _that_ already.

"I'm back, Ma."

There was a shift in the woman's golden head that told Cloud she had acknowledged him, but the rocking of her chair didn't even stutter, nor did the clickity-clack of her bone knitting needles.

"And Vincent's with me?" Cloud tried. The rocking of Mrs. Strife's chair finally came to a halt. She placed her knitting in the basket beside her calmly and stood.

Vincent felt his breath catch in his throat when the woman turned around. Oh, shit. It _was _her. Or, at the very least someone who was an exact replica of her.

Ave Maria, the finest Turk ever to live, the only Turk to up and vanish without a single trace of where she had gone; and not for the lack of seeking her out on Shinra's part. She'd been Legend's former partner and one of the few who knew every secret that Shinra had to hide at the time- and almost no doubt knew all of the companies current skeletons. Of course they had tried- and failed rather thoroughly- to find her and bring her back.

But she had been gone, without even a trace of her left in any archive or book or register. Just a ghost of a memory in the minds of the few people who'd had the luxury of working with her and an urban legend of her lingering behind to frighten young Turks. A legend of a woman so fierce she'd brought President Shinra himself to his knees, back when President Shinra was still a warrior of a man building a budding company. A legend of a woman that made even the strongest fear the slightest mention of the name Ave Maria, that scared younger Turks from ever taking upon themselves such a weighty title.

A legend of a powerful woman. A legend of an executioner.

But there she stood, in all her 5'1, sand-colored skin, blonde-haired glory, blue eyes sparking like twin sapphires.

"Hello, Valentine." Calm. Collected. A bit hoarse, but probably from raising the little blonde devil that was likely her kid. Said little demon that was standing just as serenely at her shoulder, her spitting image if he only had the bust and lengthy hair.

Vincent couldn't tell if he was frightened or giddy, though neither emotion showed.

"Hello, Maria."

Calm. Collected. Cool. Just the greeting of two Turks (ex-Turks) at the dawn of something greater. It happened all the time, often without either party knowing. But both of them knew this time. It was as though they could feel it; the Fate's converging in that tiny house in the tiny reactor town of Nibelheim.

The greeting of two Turks at the dawn of something greater. Together with the boy who was the _past-present-future_, they would change the world. The last time, Nibelheim was the beginning of the end.

This time, NIbelheim would only be the end of the beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Happy new year! Here's chapter two!**

**Word count: 1,207**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 2: Ultima<strong>

Marian Strife served dinner and tea as she caught Vincent up with all that had changed during his slumber. Vincent's assessment of her had been almost correct: she was still mostly privy to Shinra's secrets, but now there were places she couldn't touch without raising suspicion. She had so many contacts, but they could only go so far, do so much, before their usefulness expired. After all, most of these contacts were just ordinary people within the ranks selling what little they knew to an "anonymous buyer" that changed every few days. They weren't trained spies taught to observe the most minute of details, to read between the lines and see what most would overlook.

But, for her sake as well as Cloud's, Marian needed that kind of insider.

"Why would Cloud need that kind of information?" Vincent asked, waving off the young man's offer of more tea. He watched the younger man carefully as Cloud walked around the table to extend the same offer of tea to Marian. Something about the blonde boy unsettled Vincent. No, _unsettled _wasn't the correct term. The boy's very presence… _stirred_ Chaos, but not in an angry way. It was more… _intrigued_. And felt as though he was _familiar_.

"What are you?"

Cloud look up at Vincent from where he was pouring his mother's tea. He knew the question would be coming. Nothing he hadn't spent the last twelve years preparing for.

"I'm Cloud Strife. In five days, this body will turn fourteen, at which point I will leave Nibelheim to enlist in Shinra's SOLDIER program. My mind, however, will turn forty-two. Roughly."

"You are not as you appear to be," Vincent grumbled- as much as a stoic man like him _could _grumble. "That much is clear. I meant, what _are _you. You do not read as human, nor SOLDIER, nor Turk, nor any kind of man or beast I have come across, but it's as though-" Cloud cut him off with three clipped words.

"I am Ultima."

Vincent's mouth snapped shut rather quickly for the composed man. Perhaps the calmness they always saw from him came from his experience socializing with AVALANCHE members, and not naturally? Or, perhaps Vincent was simply out of his element? Unlikely but not impossible. After all, host of the Herald of Chaos had only woken but mere hours ago. It was a lot to spring on him in such a short time. Perhaps that also explained his uncommon wordiness? It was odd to hear the normally-silent man speak so much.

The Planet might have changed a lot when She sent Cloud back, but he liked to think She hadn't changed his friends too much. Otherwise this was going to be really awkward.

"I'm certain Chaos can tell you exactly what I mean," Cloud said pointedly, earning him a flinch from the red-eyed man. A moment of silence stretched between the three people, filled only with the cracking of the fire and the howl of the storm outside.

Vincent poked at Chaos in an almost agitated manner, waking the demon easily.

_Who is this boy?_

_**Ultima. **_Chaos's… voice?... was bland. And vaguely tired.

_So he says. _Vincent snarked. _I need to know more._

_**It's not my place to share.**_

_He told me to ask you._

_**And I'm telling you to get it from him. **_Chaos snapped. He calmed himself, then continued. _**He was your friend once, and will be. Gaia has chosen him for a purpose, and she has chosen well. Now go back and talk with the Golden One, and leave me to my rest.**_

Cloud was standing by his mother's shoulder when Vincent opened his eyes again.

"Chaos is being… uncooperative," Vincent explained. Cloud hummed in acknowledgment. His mother gave him a knowing like before standing and giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead, a pap on the cheek.

"You boys talk it out, _Nibel_. I will be in the other room," she said. Cloud half-smiled appreciatively.

"Listening in, no doubt," he teased as he took her seat. She smirked back at him as she swept gracefully out of the room.

There was another short silence in the kitchen before Cloud began to speak. His voice was strained, with almost a nervous edge, but clear.

"We saved the Planet, Vincent. Or, we will save the Planet. Fourteen years and I still don't quite know how to word that.

It starts here, in Nibelheim. I was sixteen,- everyone thought I was eighteen at the time- a Shinra infantryman accompanying two SOLDIERs on a mission to examine the local reactor. Sephiroth was leading it. He's your son, by the way, but that's a story for another time. Anyway, we were on our way to examine the reactor, but the mission didn't..."

Cloud spoke, and Vincent listened. It seemed like an incredulous story and yet, somehow, Vincent knew it was true. He could not recall a single event that Cloud spoke of, but he… knew. Chaos rumbled in approval, sending waves of an almost… nostalgic feeling, like an old man remembering good times.

"We saved the world, Vincent. You, me, Tifa, AVALANCHE, the Turks. But we saved it too late." Cloud's face took on a kind of sad expression. "Geostigma came back with a vengeance, but this time it was… different. Rebounded almost the moment we cured it. Plants started dying, nothing would grow. And then- And then-" Cloud choked on a sob. Vincent stood up, alarmed, but Cloud pressed on.

"The dead started coming back. First small animals. We didn't even notice at the time, but now that I've had time to think about it, I don't know why we didn't. Then monsters wouldn't die unless you chopped them up into pieces. Then people." Vincent placed his human hand on the boy's- man's, _boy's?-_ shoulder. Cloud leaned into his touch. "Aerith said that Jenova had finally gained enough power to begin killing the Planet, that Jenova was winning and we couldn't stop it this time. She said the only way was to send one of us back- one of us, the Planet didn't have enough left to send all of us- to fix it.

And so I'm back. Gaia made me Her WEAPON, Her Ultima, and I've spent the last twelve years trying to prepare for this, for the future, for _changing_ the future, but… Well ,there's only so much a kid can do."

Cloud took a steadying breath, resting his head against the wood of the table. Vincent rubbed soothing circles into the blonde's back, at a loss as to what to do in a situation such as this. He was never the most… sociable of people, never the best at relating to other people's feelings, and spending a couple decades in a coffin certainly did not help in the matter. But what little he did seemed to ease some of Cloud's tension, if only a little bit.

Cloud sat up and gave Vincent a grateful smile, and Vincent decided to go out on a limb and trust him.

"So where do we start?"

The blonde gave him a surprised look, then smirked, and in that moment he looked so similar to his mother it almost sent chills down Vincent's spine.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, new chapter! Not been feeling my best, but I will try my hardest to come up with a chapter for next week as well. Please R&R!**

**Update: Thank you, Catcrazzed, for reminding me of where Junon and Costa are on the maps! **

**Word count: 1,232**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 3: The Prelude to Boom<strong>

Vincent watched, intrigued, as Cloud wired up the explosives that were going to blow the Nibelheim reactor sky-high. Or, at the very least, this one particular part of it.

"Where did you learn how to do this, Cloud?" Vincent wondered, though he probably already knew the answer. All Turks had at least some training in the making and dismantling of explosives. Ave Maria wasn't the best at explosives when she was a Turk, but she could definitely do something like this, and no doubt knew it well enough to pass it on.

"Ma, mostly, though Reno did teach me a few handy tricks when we worked together." Cloud said this with a smirk, neatly twisting the copper frays of two wires together. The red numbers on the timer blinked to life, the little light they gave off almost completely washed out by the light of the Mako. He tucked it neatly beneath Jenova's containment tube then stood, brushing his hands off cheerfully. "There! Now it should go off when either of us sends the message! So long as we have signal, of course."

"You don't intend to blow her up now?" Vincent wondered, tapping the glass of Jenova's housing with a clawed finger. Chaos growled at the alien woman, repeating the same intentions of "tearing is into pieces and letting the Planet have Her fun with it." Vincent ignored the demon, for the most part.

"Yeah. I want to get a few things done at Shinra before I blow up the main reason why the Mako mixes Hojo makes are able to bind to SOLDIERs' DNA. Not that I need it, of course. I just need to make sure that one of the people that's important to this endeavor is strong enough to lift his own sword and not one of those weird mutated… _thingies_." He waved a hand toward the blobs of flesh and mako that were once Hojo's failed experiments. The reactor was different this time around: there wasn't a plaque with Jenova's name over the door, and there weren't massive steel doors guarding Jenova's chamber. Or a room full of documents in the manor. They checked. There was only the library full of forgeries that Hojo had based his research off of. There wasn't even a speck of information about Project S.

But walking in there, in the gloom of the reactor, still brought back all sorts of foul memories for Cloud. He half-expected to see the dried pools of blood where he and Zack had lain, dying. He could remember the way Sephiroth looked when he stood before his "mother", framed by the blueish-green light of the Mako. He could almost hear the fierce shriek of metal on metal when Sephiroth had torn the idol of Jenova away to reveal her true, twisted form.

_But none of that is going to happen this time around_, Cloud thought firmly, zipping up his duffel-bag full of clothes and other necessities and slinging it across his back. They'd already torched Shinra Mansion; it was no doubt burning down to a black clearing of charred ground as they stood there. Not even the underground laboratories would survive a fire fueled by materia, anger, and dry wood. The only things saved from that vile place were Vincent's Quicksilver and the one original book in the whole tainted library, a copy of _The History of the Ancients _that had no doubt once belonged to Gast, as written by a small group of professors many decades ago. It was the only thing worth saving, and that's only because it details the powers and abilities the Ancients once had, and Aerith would no doubt be able to use that.

If, of course, she was still alive this time around. Cloud desperately hoped she was.

Vincent followed Cloud out of the Reactor and into the cool mountain air. It would take them a week to get to Midgar, first stopping at Costa de Sol, then taking ship to Junon, then riding the train the rest of the way. It was _getting to Costa _that was going to be the hard part: the two of them were going to take a truck to Rocket Town, but the rest of the way to Costa was going to have to be a journey on foot.

The man that was to be their driver was still packing up when Cloud and Vincent reached him, seemingly oblivious to the chaos milling around him as a result of Shinra Manor catching aflame. Not that anyone was going to put it out: it was far enough from the town that the flames would not catch any other houses, and nobody really liked that place anyway. Cloud tossed his bag behind the seat in the cab and sat on the tailgate, watching the man load boxes into the truck; he had already waved off any attempts to assist.

Vincent watched in intrigue as a young woman walked hesitantly up to Cloud. Long black hair, a gentle face, a floral-patterned dress she was clearly uncomfortable in. Cloud seemed to recognize her, because he unconsciously tensed up in her presence. They talked for a bit, and Vincent tried not to listen, but… Once a Turk, always a Turk.

"So, you're leaving?" the girl asked, her voice small but not yet under VIncent's hearing. Cloud half-smiled grimly as he answered.

"Yeah, Tifa." So Tifa was her name. "I'm leaving for Shinra. I'm gonna be a hero, just like I said I would!" Cloud's voice was filled with such fake cheer, but it seemed to convince Tifa. She threw her arms around Cloud's shoulders in a hug, and the blonde tentatively hugged back.

"Good luck, Cloud." She pulled away and looked down, bashful, before finding her confidence again. "I don't want to see you back here until you're a SOLDIER, promise?"

Cloud laughed softly, nodding.

"Promise."

...

It was a long drive to Rocket Town.

Cloud felt a little bad about sitting in the cab when Vincent had to ride in the back, especially with how cold it could get with the wind blowing, but Vincent reminded him that Chaos wouldn't let him get sick, and that Cloud was still very much human despite Gaia's gifts, so Cloud shut up about it. The road was thankfully clear of monsters, though, so the drive wasn't as long as it would have been if it wasn't.

As soon as the truck stopped in Rocket Town, Cloud and Vincent were out and heading towards the nearest supply shop. They had weapons and a few Summons Materia and a little gil, but Cloud wasn't comfortable with a gun and didn't feel like using his fists all the way to Costa de Sol, and summoning Odin or Shiva every time they had to battle would quickly become taxing. So they spent what little gil they had on a simple sword, a Blizzard1, and a Cure1. They could level them up easily on the road.

Cloud wanted to stop by Cid's house, to see if the airshipman was still working on that rocket of his, was still doing okay, but he knew that probably wouldn't be a good idea. No one knew him anymore. He had to keep reminding himself of that.

So without lingering any longer, Cloud and Vincent set off from Rocket Town towards Costa, and from there, Midgar.


	4. Chapter 4

**Yooooo! Welcome back. Not much going on this week. Just wait a little longer... Please R&R! **

**Word count: 1,136**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 4: Middangar and Shinra<strong>

According to Vincent- now and in the past-future- Shinra had built Midgar over the once-beautiful village of Middangar, a place once surrounded by fertile land and greenery.

But, watching the scenery pass from through the windows of the train, Cloud saw none of that legacy. The land around Midgar was a wasteland, a desert sporting a few stunted trees at best. Nothing that even suggested the land had once been fertile, much less a forest. Cloud knew that if one were to take soil samples, they'd find nothing wrong with the soil around Midgar. But nothing would grow either. The Lifestream simply… didn't flow there, not with the reactors drawing it into the city, and Midgar did boast _eight_ reactors.

Cloud could see the pain on Vincent's face- as well hidden as it was- as he, too, watched the desert roll by. It was clear to Cloud that the changes around Midgar had an effect on the ex-Turk. Maybe they'd be able to restore the land around Midgar to what it was, once all of this was over? There was a good chance of that, especially if Aerith learned from Gast's book and was able to ease the Lifestream back into it's original flow sooner than it would take naturally.

The plan to bring down Shinra Electric Power Company wasn't so much to bring it down as it was to change it. Blowing up reactors did more harm than good, and why blow them up when one could change Shinra from the inside, get them to _shut down_ the reactors in favor of safer alternatives, _and_ prevent them from building any more. And this time, it was a viable option for Cloud. He just needed to get enough important people on his side.

The first would have to be Reeve Tutsi. The man was smart, cunning, and cared greatly about the Planet and its inhabitants. He would no doubt at least listen to Cloud's story, if not believe him. And, it _was_ rumored that he and Rufus Shinra were a _thing_, so that would definitely help in swaying him. Which would come later and passively. Hopefully.

Next, they would have to start driving a wedge between Sephiroth- the whole trio, if they got there in time- and the scientists. Enough of a wedge that Sephiroth would begin to doubt Hojo's word, and that Genesis and Angeal would not turn to Hollander for the cure to degradation. Hopefully, if they played their cards right, degradation wouldn't even begin to come to pass: Cloud and his mother had worked together to create the cure to degradation, a mixture of Cloud's blood and pure Mako from the springs, that would purify the tainted Jenova cells in the two SOLDIERs bodies. All he had to do was find a way to get it in them.

Meanwhile, Vincent would rejoin the Turks and get them aligned with Reeve and Rufus. Despite being one of Hojo's escaped experiments, the Turks was probably the safest place for Vincent to be: Veld had lost his partner once, he wasn't likely to let it happen again. And, if not Veld, then Tseng would probably be unwilling to let the legendary Turk go. His schoolboy crush was obvious to anyone who knew how to read him and had the guts to say it out loud.

Finally, so long as they already had Rufus on their side, all that was left was to take out the President and put Rufus in his place. Rufus would then take Reeve's suggestion to look for alternative energy sources, and things would fall into line from there.

Hopefully.

The train began to slow to a stop on the Plate, and Cloud felt the nervousness building up in his stomach again. He was ready for this, but he most definitely wasn't looking forward to it.

Vincent slipped through the doors just in front of Cloud, looking back wordlessly but with a pointed look before blending with the crowd heading towards the slums. Cloud got the message, though: _good luck, don't do anything stupid._ Cloud knew Vincent would do the same.

Cloud took a deep breath, then turned and started up the stairs towards Shinra Tower.

Shinra Tower, the headquarters of the multi-_billion_ dollar company, was _sixty-six_ stories on the main building, not to mention an additional five buildings at least twenty stories apiece. And every single floor, every room, had a purpose. Quite a bit of it was devoted to office cubicles and housing space for SOLDIERs, but there were also training facilities and materia/weapons storage rooms and rooms- or even entire floors- devoted to scientific research and advancement.

Altogether, it was quite the impressive sight.

Cloud did his best to ignore the shadow it cast over him as he headed towards the doors to register. Most young people were filing in through the right-side door, leaving the left-side door free for actual employees- or the occasional impatient Cadet- to move in and out of. Left for Turks, right for SOLDIERs, as they liked to say, though Cloud wasn't certain that which door you entered through actually had any effect on whether or not you got into the Turks. He could see Reno's fiery hair entering through the left door, so he guessed it had at least some merit, for being the lucky door for Turk potentials if nothing else.

Cloud still didn't take his chances, and entered through the right-side door with almost everyone else.

About thirty minutes, three sets of paperwork, a photograph, and a bus ride later, Cloud was standing in front of the Cadet barracks, holding two new sets of uniforms (the rest were to be delivered to his rooms later) and a bag full of half a dozen textbooks, the information in which Cloud probably already knew.

The CO had the Cadets line up, and Cloud ended up squished between Reno and a kid he didn't remember and probably didn't want to know; he was clearly eastern-continent, probably Junon or Kalm, one of those big guys who thought they were all that. He'd probably end up getting schooled in the first week that, if you were from a city part- especially eastern- you really weren't as leveled as you liked to think. Cloud without Gaia's Gifts could probably show him up at the moment, simply because backwater westerns started at a much higher level than eastern city-folk.

"Alright, Civies!" the CO bellowed, and the last of the chattering Cadets shut up real quick. "Let's get this done and let's get this done fast. I, for one, have the weekend off, and I don't feel like using half of that sleeping off the strain of having to deal with you brats!"

Cloud had the feeling it was going to be a long week.


	5. Chapter 5

**Bluh. Last week was not a good week. But I live! And I have returned with new content!**

**Word count: 1,169**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 5: Of Friends and Foes<strong>

Cloud resisted the urge to groan as he stepped into the tiny barracks quarters he shared with five other Cadets. The room was definitely _not _built for cramming in three bunk beds- staggered to take up less space but still claiming the bulk of it- and six Cadets' personal effects. But it did, and, at the moment, Cloud was just thankful it was empty of his roommates so he could have at least a moment of private time. It was still terribly messy, but at least he was alone.

_Now_ Cloud remembered why he hated teenagers.

The last five days had simultaneously been the best and worst five days of Cloud's new life. He _hated_ orientation, for one. He also highly disliked having to play it down during training so that he didn't attract any unwanted attention, which proved to be harder than he first expected it to be. A particular incident with the explosion of an unleveled fire materia (after Cloud had purposely not even tried to cast anymore- though he _still_ cast better than most his class- and made it look like an accident, the teacher had written it off as just that, and Cloud had been allowed to continue in that class) had earned Cloud all sorts of unwelcome attention from some of the other Cadets who hadn't even been able to make a spark, mostly in the form of bullying and beating. Which Cloud took, because he was too afraid he was going to accidentally hurt one of them if he fought back.

But, at the same time, Cloud was happy to finally be able to get moving. He felt like he'd spent too long in Nibelheim, even though he had been too young to really do anything. Now that he was actually _doing stuff_, actually _making progress_, he was almost overjoyed.

Reno was quickly becoming Cloud's friend, despite the blonde's resistance. The red-headed Turk-to-be was persistent, and it was beginning to finally break down some of the barriers Cloud had tried to construct between them. Cloud was about ready to give in and let them be "friends". It would prove to be interesting, if nothing else.

Genesis and Angeal were still alive. Just that fact alone made Cloud want to collapse in a heap crying. He couldn't tell if the memories he had of them were his or Zack's, but whoever they belonged to had clearly been very close to them. Seeing them alive and well made Cloud's heart ache. He wanted to be close to them again, but he couldn't. At least, not at the moment. Not as a Cadet.

Zack was alive. That fact made Cloud more relieved than anything, if only if this time was _his_ turn to save the spiky-haired young SOLDIER. Cloud wasn't going to let him die this time. Not again.

Aerith was as well as she could be. Vincent delivered the book, which she apparently accepted with abundant amounts of joy. After the ex-now-reinstated-Turk explained to her what was going on, she immediately promised to help in any way she could. It was reassuring to know that the last remaining Ancient had not been changed too much either.

The only one Cloud had not seen much of was Sephiroth. He'd been at orientation, to give a speech about honor or pride as a SOLDIER or something like that. Cloud hadn't actually been paying attention to the words being spoken. He was more focused on the fact that Sephiroth had looked… Well, for lack of a better term, _human_ up there on the podium. Sure, he looked stiff and awkward and uncomfortable and talked a little mechanically, but that was the _point_. He wasn't the bat-shit insane, overconfident megalomaniac from Cloud's memories. He was a little off his game and socially awkward and _human_.

That was probably the biggest relief for Cloud. That Sephiroth hadn't been insane before Jenova got her claws in him. That he was just a human looking for someone- _anyone_- to show him an ounce of humanity in return.

Cloud shot Vincent a quick update on his smuggled-and-probably-illegal PHS, just telling him what he was planning to do and when, all in coded script that would actually look like a message from Vincent's boyfriend/girlfriend if one didn't actually look into it. Kind of embarrassing, but the quickest way to ensure no one was going to pry.

The screen lit up, ensuring a reply, and Cloud shoved the PHS underneath his mattress, collected his things, and slipped off before anyone poked their head into the room.

Cloud slipped down the hall, keeping out of the sight of the cameras. He wasn't technically skipping class,- he'd shown to have an "affinity" for Materia, and the Infirmary wanted to train him instead of the usual teachers- but he still wasn't all too fond of having his face on cameras. An old habit form AVALANCHE, he supposed.

The elevator beeped as Cloud swiped his pass, allowing him to use it during class time. He crossed his arms behind his back as he waited for it to reach his destination. Using pass, it was rather easy to get around, he conceded, even if it did take quite a bit of showing off and attention-getting to obtain it legally. He would have swiped it off a Turk, but, well… He wasn't looking to sign his death sentence just yet.

The doors hissed open, and Cloud stepped out into the sterile white of the Cadet Infirmary. Even if it wasn't as gloomy and eerie as the labs Hojo had once kept/will keep him in, it still made him angsty. It was still too clean, and the smell still reminded him of that place.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Cloud logged in for the hour and bustled off to assist the other nurses.

…

Vincent's PHS was already in hand when it buzzed. He did his best _not_ to hide his blush when he read the message. In truth, it was rather embarrassing, however necessary it was.

_Hey Vin! None of my plans have changed, so we still on for tonight?~ I'll make sure to bring the cash this time, so don't worry about paying. Also, do you think you could pick up my prescription when you get the chance? _

So, Cloud was planning on checking the financial records for the Science Department that night? Vincent tapped out a quick reply before sliding the device back into his pocket. It wasn't a bad plan: it wasn't near as risky as trying to check the actual projects, especially since that information was kept solely on the lab computers, and the money could definitely tell what Hojo was doing down there.

"Hey, Grim! You done chatting up your girlfriend yet, yo? Let's _go!_"

Vincent tucked his face into his collar and moved to catch up with the other Turk. It'd work, yeah. Vincent just wished there was a less embarrassing way of getting the message across.


	6. Chapter 6

**New chapter, new content, a few bombs dropped. Not, literal bombs. Actual explosions come later. As always, read and review to tell me what you think!**

**Word count: 1,175**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 6: Exactly as Planned<strong>

"I'm telling you, Kunsel, I don't know anything about it!"

"It's SOLDIER Second Class Kunsel to you, Cadet Jakobs, and I'm telling you I don't believe a damn word of that."

Kunsel slid the- admittedly thin- manila folder across the metal desk to the Cadet, but kept his hand on it, bearing down on the Cadet intimidatingly.

"You see, Cadet," he said sweetly, "I'm a SOLDIER before I'm a Turk. So if Tseng has the nuts to call _me_ on _my_ day off in the middle of _my_ spa treatment, then you had best start praying that anything _you_ have to give me was well worth the fucking trouble." Kunsel let the threat sink in for a moment as the Cadet cringed in his chair before straightening and crossing his arms across his chest. "Now, two nights ago there was a breach of security. I want to know where you were that night."

"I was in my room!" the Cadet exclaimed. Kunsel raised a doubtful eyebrow, and he all but shrunk in his chair. "I swear it! I was in my room. I did my work for my class, then tried to get some shut-eye! I didn't leave until the morning!"

"Your definition of morning or mine?" The Cadet flinched, and Kunsel internally smirked. "You know, your story really isn't holding too much water right now." Kunsel picked up the folder and flipped it open. There wasn't really more than the basics,- they didn't know more than the basics- but Kunsel was using it more as a scare tactic than anything else, really. "One person seen leaving the Floor 56 Terminal Room. Approximately 5'2", wearing full Cadet uniform including helmet, the only telling mark being the nametag on his uniform. Not a lot of Cadets are that short, and it was _your_ name on that uniform." The folder didn't make a resounding click when Kunsel closed it, much to his disappointment, but it had the same effect. "Are you trying to tell me it _wasn't_ you?"

"It wasn't me!" the Cadet insisted, his voice breaking. Kunsel sighed, tapped the edge of the folder against the metal table a few times, then walked out without another word.

"It wasn't him." Tseng raised an eyebrow at the SOLDER's firm announcement.

"And you're sure?"

"Positive. He doesn't read like that kinda guy. If he knew anything, he would have spilled already." A moment of silence as the two men debated, then Kunsel asked, "What about the other guy."

"He has an alibi supported by quite a few witnesses," Tseng admitted with a sigh. "Cadet Strife checked in for the night shift at the Infirmary, as witnessed by a number of the other nurses. He left about one in the morning, about a half an hour after our mysterious security breach." Tseng crossed his arms and shook his head. "It all checks out. He can't be our guy."

Kunsel flipped open the folder and re-read its contents, trying to find something he might have missed before. But nothing jumped out at him. In fact, it all looked almost too ordinary, as far as security breaches could go. In and out, computer wiped clean, no fingerprints, only a grainy camera image of the suspect leaving- it was all just about textbook.

It unnerved Kunsel to no end.

"I'm going to do some more digging," Kunsel told Tseng cheerfully, closing the folder and turning to the door. "Keep me updated."

…

Cloud tried his hardest to keep his face blank as he was led out of the interrogation room. It was almost too easy, getting the information, tricking the Turks. Actually, it was kind of pathetic. They would change a lot over the next two years to become the Turks Cloud remembered, and he had no doubt the mass defection of SOLDIER had a hand to play in that last time. He'd leave Vincent to find a way to instigate the change this time around. He didn't have time to be babysitting grown men and women.

The more concerning matter at the moment was what Cloud had learned from the financial records.

Hojo- or, at least, the Science Department in general, Cloud just assumed it was Hojo- was receiving a huge amount of funding, but only a relative miniscule part of it was being focused on things like SOLDIER upkeep and research. Other small chunks of it were being re-routed to smaller projects, but the bulk of it seemed to be focused on one Project LAZARUS. A number of private contributors had been listed, mostly other big corporations that were branches of Shinra under a different name and head.

What caught Cloud's attention was that one Lazard Deusericus, Director of SOLDIER, was listed as one of the funders. It wasn't very much money and he was listed towards the end where he could easily be overlooked, but he was there. Which meant that, whatever this was, it had something to do with SOLDIER as a whole or a choice few SOLDIERs, and either was the Director wanted to have a hand in it and be able to see what exactly was going on.

Cloud had the feeling that this Project LAZARUS wasn't just Hojo's doing. In the past-future, Lazard had been funding Hollander, not Hojo, but Cloud had never learned what the funding had been for beyond the fact that it had something to do with degradation. Perhaps this was it? Which would mean…

Hollander and Hojo knew about the degradation before it even began in Genesis. A sickening thought, but… Now that Cloud knew, it kind of made sense. If Hollander knew about the degradation beforehand, he would have had time to set up bases in the "abandoned" laboratories, and time to plan out stealing all that equipment from the Science Department. That is, if he wasn't stealing it bit-by-bit, and the company just didn't realize it until _after_ he had vanished with Genesis. After all, it wasn't that odd for a few random pieces of equipment to go missing from time to time…

Gears in his head whirling, Cloud shot Vincent a quick message on his PHS the moment he got back to his room before rushing off to the Infirmary. This information came with a whole new set of questions, a lot more than it had answered. Cloud just hoped the answers could be found before the events leading up to Nibelheim could be set in motion.

…

Vincent's PHS buzzed, the screen lighting up. He tapped it, opening the message.

_**From: CSDelivery**_

_I've got some new stuff for you. It's not good, but it's what you asked for. I need to give it to you in person. Meet me at the Church in a couple days and I'll drop it off._

'What you asked for.' Read as: what _we_ asked for. Which means it had something to do with what Cloud found in the financial records.

Whatever it was Cloud had to tell him, it wasn't going to be good, was it?


End file.
